Noodle soup
by Konyakusha Ushi
Summary: Not a day is wasted when you're enjoying yourself or being with the people you like most. A multi-chapter fic featuring Ling and Lan Fan in Amestris.


**((Disclaimer: I do not own **_**'Fullmetal Alchemist'**_** or **_**'Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood'**_**. '**_**Fullmetal Alchemist**_**' and '**_**Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood'**_** belong to '**_**Hiromu' Hiromi Arakawa.**_**))**

_(Author's Notes: Hello again! I haven't written for Lan Fan and Ling Yao in a long time, simply because I ran out of ideas. But then, the other day, we bought some of my favourite instant Asian noodles at the shop. Took them home, didn't eat them till Saturday, got to Saturday, put them over the stove and started to busy myself with mixing the instant soup mix and flavouring together. And, I don't know why I did this but, I stuck my finger into the sticky mix and placed my finger in my mouth. It was so salty I didn't know what to do! So here it is, thanks for reading all that babble if you did.)_

"No, no, no," Ling said to the marketeer. "Do you see any…?" He waved his arms about as if they were jelly and made slurping sounds with his mouth. The marketeer shot the Prince a dirty look.

"Listen here buddy, if ya don't know what you're talking about then I can't provide it to ya, alright."

"Yes, yes!" Ling chirped. "I agree. But you see, I really want some…" He started his weird dance again, attracting the eyes of several other shoppers in the busy markets of Central.

"I have no idea." The marketeer said to his fellow worker providing jams and sauces in the stall next to him. He shot a look back at Ling, who simply danced around in a more frenzied matter, and then looked back to the jam seller. "He's physco... The guy's a nut job! "Suddenly out of nowhere, a hooded, masked figure appeared before him and stared him down brutally. The marketeer panicked when he saw him reached under his shirt (that was a couple of sizes too big and tug something free from what appeared to be a belt.

"I will not allow you to speak of my Lord that way." The mysterious person said in a very low voice.

"L-Lord?!" The marketeer cried. "W-wha-?"

"Oh! Lan Fan!" Ling happily smiled, walking forward and placing a hand on her auto-mail shoulder. She stiffened, even though she couldn't feel as well as she could with her real arm made of skin, flesh and sinew. "You got here just at the right time." The marketeer's eyes narrowed.

"What's going on?" He cried, but no one heard him over the babble and noise of the loud customers and bartering that took place. He went to yell again but this time he whispered a plea, "Don't kill me." Ling giggled and squeezed Lan Fan's shoulder a little. Lan Fan secretly thanked her mask.

"Lan Fan isn't going to kill you!" He chuckled. "Lan Fan is simply here to help me out, aren't you Lan?" Lan Fan, although thankful for Ling for not referring to her as 'she', wished that he would refrain from calling her by that nickname in public. Or better yet, at all. She didn't like the way it made her stomach feel.

"It is my duty to protect the Young master, and his goals." She replied in her gruff tone.

"Speaking of which Lan Fan," he turned to her and started to dance again. (A/N: Maybe Ling was the inventor of the worm dace!) And in perfect Xingese he asked, "How do you say miantiao in Amestrian?" Lan Fan didn't even hesitate to answer his question. She had studied long and hard learning the language of the Amestrians. It was part of her duty.

"In general terms," Lan Fan replied in Xingese. "Miantiao is noodles and-"

"Noodles!" The marketeer suddenly cut in, receiving a dark glare from Lan Fan. "U-uh…" Ling smiled brightly and leant on the stall's table.

"You got any noodles?" Ling asked in a care-free matter. "I've been craving them since last week but Amestris doesn't seem to sell any." He cocked his head to the side playfully. "You know the good Xingese type noodles?"

"I-I…I'm sorry sir but-"He was cut off by another glare on Lan Fan's part. If her Lord wanted noodles, he would get noodles. And besides, his tantrum-throwing and whining was not good for his image. "I don't sell fresh noodles but," He reached around behind him and fetched a small packet and placed it on the counter in front of the Prince. "But I do sell instant."

"Instant?" Ling echoed, trying the word out on his tongue.

"Yes,"

Nodding Ling said over his shoulder in Amestrian, "Lan Fan," she snapped to attention immediately, but still kept an eye on their surroundings professionally. "What's instant in Xingese?"

"Shunjian, My Lord." Ling's mouth fell in an 'o' shape.

"Oh, shunjian." He grinned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an Amestrian note. "I'll take it." The marketeer nodded eagerly, hoping to get these people away from him as soon as possible, and took the note. His eyes widened, where had this man gotten so much money from? In return, the marketeer handed the packet of noodles to Ling.

"It's in Xingese," he said slowly. "But I suspect that you two will have no trouble reading it, right?" Lan Fan met the man's eyes coldly. "I didn't mean to offend you-"

"No, no!" Ling chirped. "Xingese is mine and Lan Fan's first language!" Ling took the noodles and turned it over in his hand, studying it. "It seems a little small." He squinted at the man questioningly. "Do you have anymore?"

"Yes, I-"

"I'll take them all!" The marketeer shot Ling a questioning look but hurried to the job when he realised that his 'assistant', or what-ever he was, was glaring at him. He turned around, scooped up ten or so packets and thrust them towards Ling.

"Here!"

"Where's the change?" Lan Fan demanded, eyes burning holes.

"Right away sir!" The marketeer yelped, reaching into his money bag and throwing coins at Ling, who caught them swiftly.

"Thank you!" Ling sang, going to scoop up the packets, leaning a little too heavily on the counter. When his feet left the ground, the whole stall suddenly fell forward. Ling, holding his many packets of noodles, and Lan Fan dodged out the way with ease. "Sorry," Ling cried over his shoulder as he made a run for it. "Tata!" He waved his free hand idly.

"My stall!" The marketeer cried in dismay as many people and other sellers attention shot towards him.

"Boy that was an adventure!" Ling laughed as he and Lan Fan ran through the Central's main park. "I can't wait to get back to the apartment and eat these noodles!" Ling sighed dreamily. "It's been so long," he said, hugging the noodles to his chest. Lan Fan didn't know why she blushed, but she did upon seeing that sight. But it didn't last long (thank goodness for her). Ling screeched to a stop, as did Lan Fan upon seeing her Lord suddenly halt.

"My lord?" She asked, rushing to his side.

"Where's the apartment complex again?" He goofily smiled at her. "I forgot." Lan Fan sighed in relief silently, glad he wasn't hurt.

"Shall I lead the way, My Lord?"

"Yes please!"

"Do you require some assistance with those packets of noodles?"

"Nope!" Ling said, smacking his lips together on the 'p' sound.

"I insist…" She began, but Ling shook his head surely.

"They are my lovelies! I shall carry them back to the complex like the gentleman I am!" He declared with a laugh. Lan Fan nodded her head, a little unsure.

"Shall we go, My Lord?" Ling nodded happily.

"Yep," And with that, Lan Fan made her way north. Ling followed by her side like a happy puppy with a bone prize (A/N: Haha, wut?). They made their way through the streets and past a big pond and gentle lapping lake that caught the eye of the moon. Eventually, they found themselves at the complex. Lan Fan and Ling went to the reception and checked in. Lan Fan talk whilst Ling danced around. She talked faster when he began to do his 'noodle dance'. When the talking was done, Ling galloped up the stairs to the 5th floor and down the hallway. Ling made a lot of noise while Lan Fan ran silently behind him. Eventually, they reached their room. Lan Fan had tried to make separate arrangements, because she had thought Ling might have wanted some privacy and separation between the two, and she had considered the class difference between them too, but Ling had declared that he was scared of the dark, in front of the receptionist and all. He had even begun to do his 'afraid of the dark dance', which involved some moves crossed between 'rain dancing' and something he called the 'thriller' (A/N: He invented the thriller moves too XD). So Lan Fan had agreed, telling herself that it would be easier to protect Ling if they shared a room. And the receptionist had been kind too and given them two separate beds. Thank goodness for that. Ling slammed the door shut and rushed over to the little kitchen in the corner and threw the packets of noodles down. He picked up the nearest one and began to read the back of it rapidly. Lan Fan watched him read for a few seconds before locking the door behind her. When all that was said and done, she walked over to her Lord and stood beside him diligently.

"May I ask what the recipe requires, My Lord?" Ling waved his hand at her and continued reading.

"You don't have to be so formal Lan Fan and-"He halted his sentence, eyes opening in surprise.

"My Lord?" She said in a very concerned voice. She, unknowingly, reached out to touch his shoulder, but halted when Ling suddenly laughed and danced around happily.

"The ingredients are the two sauce packets inside and hot water!" He told her. "We start by boiling water! We have to cook this! All of it!" He suddenly declared, reaching under the kitchen stove and fetching a pot from the basin. He threw it on the stove, banged his head accidently as he tried to rush up a little too fast, and turned on the tap to his left. He grabbed the pot, filled it with water and put it back on the stove. Lan Fan lit the stove, turned up the heat to the hottest it could go. Within two seconds of it being on the stove, Ling started to fidget in a frenzied way. "Is it ready yet Lan Fan?"

"Not yet, My Lord." She picked up a noodle packet and read the instructions quickly. "The water needs to reach boiling point and the noodles need to be added and cooked for 3 minutes. Then we have to mix the two instant packets together and pour the noodles and hot water into a serving bowl."

"I thought it said it was instant." Ling moaned with a frown.

"Not that instant it seems, My Lord." Another few moments of silence passed before:

"Ne, Lan Fan."

"Yes My Lord?"

"Is it ready now?"

"It seems not, Young Master. When the water is bubbling then the noodles will be ready to add." Some more silence passed. Lan Fan even guessed it to be a minute or two before:

"Ne, Lan Fan."

"Yes My Lord?"

"You got any 2's?" Lan Fan paused, processing his words.

:"Do you have some cards?"

"No, but imaginary 'Go Fish' is always fun too."

"I see." Lan Fan replied, not sure what to say.

"Ne, Lan Fan."

"Yes My Lord?"

"Let's play 'Truth or Dare'." Lan Fan didn't like the sound of that. "Or how about we play 'Twister'." And that sounded even worse. Suddenly, Ling stiffened. Lan Fan turned to face him.

"My Lord?" She asked. "Is something the matter?"

"Uh, no…" He kept his eyes on the ground. Lan Fan eyed him questioningly. "Don't worry Lan Fan." In truth, Lan Fan wanted to know what was bothering him but she decided to leave it, because he had asked her to.

"I see." She replied simply, a little lost for words. The sound of the water slowly reaching boiling point filled the silence of the room. Ling wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. Especially after what Greed had said teasingly deep within Ling's mind. Ling took in a deep breath a tried to stabilise his Qi. He really didn't want to worry Lan Fan.

'_Don't say things like that, Greed.'_ Ling said silently to the Homunculus in his mind.

'_I'll say what I want.' _Greed shot back.

"My Lord." Lan Fan said, bringing Ling to attention.

"Yes?"

"The water is boiling." She said pointing with a slender finger. Ling smiled brightly and nodded at his retainer.

"Thanks Lan." Once again, Lan Fan was glad for her mask. And she was very glad that Ling hadn't yet asked her to take it off, like he usually did. She wondered how long she could get away with it for. "Oh, and Lan," her cheeks heated again. She would never get used to that nickname.

"Yes?"

"You can take your mask off now." That long, it seemed. Lan Fan nodded and removed her mask, placing it on the kitchen bench. Ling smiled at her. Lan Fan fought back at the blush that threatened to explode on her cheeks. "That's better now, isn't it?" Lan Fan felt her mouth go dry. Not knowing how to respond to that question, wondering if it was rhetorical or not, she simply said, in the steadiest voice she could manage.

"The water, My Lord." Ling looked back to the kitchen stove.

"Oh, right!" He grabbed a packet of noodles, opened it and dumped the contents into the water. He dodge a splash back and giggled. "I'm having three packets! How about you Lan Fan?"

"I'll have just one-"

"You'll starve if you eat like that!" Ling cried. "You can have three too!" He sang, opening another 5 cakes of noodles into the water. "Noodles!" Ling sang, doing the dance as he fetched two large bowls from out under the lower kitchen cupboards. "Quick Lan Fan! We must mix the instant packets together!" Lan Fan nodded seriously and started ripping open the two instant packets from each packet. She passed six of them to Ling and kept the other six for her own bowl, which Ling had passed to her. She watched as he emptied the little packets and started mixing them together with chopsticks. When he was done, he handed Lan Fan the chopsticks. She took them, careful not to accidently touch or brush his hand and began emptying and mixing her instant packets of flavouring. When she was done, she went to hand the chopsticks back to Ling but he shook his head and grinned at her.

"Keep those ones Lan Fan. I already got some other ones." He told her, showing her a pair of clean chopsticks.

"Thank you, My Lord."

"No problem." He replied, sending a grin her way. She was the first to look away, shortly followed by Ling. Ling looked towards the boiling pot of water full of noodles and felt his grin widen. "Look Lan Fan!" He cheered. "The noodles look ready!" Without further ado he grabbed the pot by its handle and poured half the contents into Lan Fan's bowl first.

"You should've served yourself first, Young Master." She said sternly. Ling chuckled.

"Ladies first though." And when she eyed him strangely he chuckled and said, "It's an Amestrian thing." She nodded in agreement, still not quite sure what he was going on about. He then poured the rest of the contents of the pot into his bowl and set it back down on the stove. It steamed slightly still, as an aftermath from the hot water and noodles. Ling immediately started to swish his around and mix the flavouring with the water. Lan Fan copied, keeping her eyes on the hot noodles. "It smells delicious!" Ling cheerfully said, to which Lan Fan silently agreed. He picked up the bowl and walked over to his bed and sat on the end of it. He patted to an empty spot beside him and picked his chopsticks up between his fingers. "Lan Fan," he called. She stiffened but immediately respected and followed his order diligently. She scooted as far away from him as she could though. It felt a little uncomfortable being on the edge of the bed but that was better than having to sit pressed up against Ling Yao, the Morning Star of Xing. "Ready Lan Fan?" He asked, shooting her a look of excitement. She nodded. "10…987654321 let's eat!" Upon declaring those words, Ling took large amount of noodles between his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. He slurped and made a lot of noise as he chewed a Xingese custom by the way, and swallowed loudly. Any ordinary passer-by would've thought that Ling had inhaled the noodles. But to the two Xingese, it was a normal thing without a second thought for Ling and Lan Fan to eat so quickly. Lan Fan started on hers, chewing a little slower than Ling, but also eating at a very rapid pace. She hadn't eaten all day, she was quite hungry. They worked their way through the noodles and guzzled down the hot soup hungrily. When they were done, Lan Fan offered to take Ling's bowl, to which he agreed only because she insisted. Whilst Lan Fan busied herself with washing up the two bowls and pair of chopsticks, Ling fell back on his bed and patted his belly.

"That was delicious." He sighed. "But I'm all tired out now." He noted, giving off a yawn.

"Please have a shower My Lord." Ling, upon hearing those words, grinned and sat up.

"Because I smell?" Lan Fan stiffened and turned around to face him.

"That's not what I meant my-"She was cut off as he stalked towards her and raised a hand to her brow.

"I was kidding," he giggled, curling his finger around his thumb. "Poit!" He chuckled, playfully flicking her forehead gently and turning on his heel. She was glad he had turned away. That way, he couldn't see the blush on her cheeks. "See you in a minute!" He smiled, walking towards the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

"W-wait, My Lord!" She called. Ling re-appeared and grinned.

"Ya?"

"Do you have your clothes with you this time?"

"Oh!" Ling replied brow creasing. He giggled. "Two seconds." He ran to his bed side and fetched his night clothes from his drawer. Then he retreated back to the bathroom and chuckled. "See you when I'm looking at ya!" He said, closing the door. Lan Fan blushed, wondering where he had got that saying from. She shrugged it off and continued with her work, running the dishes under some luke-warm water.

_((I'm going to make a second chapter but I need some reviews first! Thank you for reading and being so amazing! Bai bai!))_


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